1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a contactless connector that sends and receives data contactlessly. More specifically, the present invention relates to a contactless connector in which a light element is provided on a cylindrical rotating body and data are sent and received contactlessly between the light element of the cylindrical rotating body and a light element of a fixed body.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art includes multiple-channel contactless data transmission technology (Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2004-116018, for example) that supplies power contactlessly to a rotating body from a fixed body and has no channel interference.
However, when two-way signal transmission is implemented by means of a rotation side and a fixed side, it is necessary to arrange light elements opposite one another in multiple stages, a first stage, which is for transmission, and a second stage, which is for reception, being made to lie opposite one another. A large number of stages is required in order establish multiple channels. This creates problems such as an increased product size and an increase in mass and it is necessary to create a mechanism and circuit substrate for fixing the light elements, as well as a dedicated aperture on the rotation side and fixed side.